BAK S3A Briefing in Brussels

The importance of evidence-based policies in the design and implementation of a new smart specialisation strategy

The purpose of the BAK Economics event on 8 January 2018 was to provide information and insights about regional analysis and smart specialisation. The event also served as an opportunity for networking among delegates from the public and private sector as well as academic representatives from all over Europe.

International locational competition is intensifying and this presents the cities and regions in Europe with new challenges. Based on the success and more than 30 years of experience in regional economic research, BAK Economics addresses the resulting needs with the concept of smart specialisation and a fact-based regional analysis. In order to be able to do that, BAK Economics maintains a high-quality regional database: BAK Regional Economic Database (RED). It contains data on the economic and industry-specific development and location attractiveness of over 1,500 regions in 24 countries. Based on this large and unique database and the idea of smart specialisation, we are delighted to present our concepts, data and tools for the strategic development of cities and regions in the future.